Butcher's wax

Seoyoung Kim <seoyoung.kim [at] cls__glasgow__gov__uk> writes

>Has anyone experienced any problems with using Butcher's wax (also
>known as bowling alley wax), such as difficulty in removing,
>changing appearance over time etc? ...

I have material tested Butchers wax and also Staples wax.  Both
these waxes  are favoured coatings in the USA and do give a harder
finish than Renaissance Micro-crystalline Wax.  I have found however
that both Butchers and Staples attack lead and copper.  I assume
this is due to an acidic bees wax content.  For this reason I feel
they are not suitable for museum objects and I have decided to
remain with Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax which has fully past
material testing.

I would be interested to hear of other peoples experiences.

Suzanne Kitto
Head of Conservation
Conservation Dept.
Royal Armouries
Armouries Drive
Leeds LS10 1LT
+44 113 220 1936/1807
Fax: +44 113 220 1917


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:56
                  Distributed: Saturday, June 4, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-56-005
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